Cleaning apparatus for wells



May 12, i942. J. D. coLLETT, JR l 2,283,048

yCLANIIG APPARATUS FOR WELLS v Filed June l0, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 JDAv/ss oufrr Je.

May 12, 1942. .1. D. coLLETT, JR

CLEANING APPARATUS FOR WELLS Filed June 10, 1940 2 Sheets-Shea?l 2 @2N2 Y mmwv mov.,

J, DAV/J5 Coafr Je.

Patented May 12, 1942 UTED STTE y n Y, Y y y2,283,048

PAT

r omer;

1 Claim.

This invention relates to cleaning apparatus for wells and has been specially designed for cleaning paraffin from well pipes either located within the well or located at the ground surface for conducting the oil from the wells.

An' object of the invention is to provide equipment of the character described which is of such Construction that it may be readily mounted on the well head of individual wells and thus maintained, at all times, ready for immediate use in case of necessity.

Another object of the invention is to provide, in equipment of this character novel types of paraiiin cutters or removers which will effectively remove from the pipe paraiiin coatings which may collect thereon.

It is a further object of the invention to provide equipment of the character described which, applied to the flow line from the well, may be readily and positively, operated in either direction.

The invention also embodies a novel type of wire line stuffing box.

It is to be understood that while the equipment disclosed has been primarily designed for removing paraffin it is equally efficient; for removing other objectionable coatings that may adhere to the inside wall of the pipe.

With the above and other objects in view the invention has particular relation to certain novel features of construction, operation and arrangement of parts, examples of which are given in this specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 shows a fragmentary, side elevational view, partly in section, of a well head illustrating one form of the cleaning apparatus mounted thereon.

Figure 2 shows a fragmentary, side elevation taken at right angles to the view shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 shows a fragmentary, cross-sectional View taken on the line 4 4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 shows a fragmentary, plan view, partly in section, of another embodiment of the invention.

Figure 6 shows a sectional view of a cutter assembly employed, and

Figure 7 shows an elevational View, partly in section, illustrating another embodiment of the paralin removed.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings wherein like numerals of reference designate the same parts in each of the figures, the numeral I designates the upper'end of a conventional well head, in the present instance being the upper end of the Christmas tree forming a partI of said'head. Attached to and upstanding from the Christmas tree there is shown the tubular" housing 2 whose upper en'd; is formed with the reducing nipple 3. f The upper end of the nipple 3 is shown screwed into the lower end of a special coupling 4into the upper end of which the tubular gland 5 is screwed.

The'upper end of the gland 5 is reduced and externally threaded to receive the clamp nut 6 whichis screwed thereon. Within the gland 5 there is wire line packing 'I shaped to form a seal aboutI the wire line 8 working through the packing. The lower end of the gland 5 and the upper end of the nut 6 have, respectively, the inside, annular shoulders 8 and 9. Within the gland on opposite sides of, and abutting, the packiggare the followers I II through which thefvigjne 8 passes axially. They have externalfnnular shoulders which abut the corresponding shoulders 8, 3. They are reduced beyond said shoulders and extend each way below the gland and above the nut 6, respectively. Said extending ends have the annular, external grooves as I 2to receive the arcuate keys I3, I4. High pressure in the well exerted against the lower follower ID will have a tendency to place the packing-under compression but the movement of said follower is restrained by the lower key I3 engaging against the end of the gland 5 Vso that the packing cannot be compressed too tightly against the wire line. It is to be noted that the followers I 0, II are interchangeable.

There is a yoke I5 one end of which is formed with a ring or collar IB which surrounds the coupling 4. outwardly extended annular flange I'I whose upper side is serrated forming the teeth I 8 against which the collar I6 rests.V Screwed onto the upper end of the coupling 4 and abutting the collar I4 there is a clamp nut I9 which when screwed down tightly against the collar I6 will cause the teeth I8 to bite into the lower side of the collar *and hold the yoke I5 very securely in its selected position. The .upper end of the yoke I5 is bi- -furcated forming a bracket having side arms 20,

20 which support a suitable transverse spindle 2| on which the sheave 22 is rotatably mounted.

The wire line 8 operates over said sheave and one end of it is connected to the rope socket 23 which supports the shank 24 to the lower endof which the parain cutter 25 is connected.

The lower end of this coupling has an The lower end of this cutter is of the general annular shape terminating in a downwardly directed, annular cutting blade 26 which is downwardly and outwardly flared as shown in Figure 1 and is of an overall transverse dimension to fit rather closely within the well pipe to -be cleaned. The cutter 24 has the side Windows 21. As the cutter moves downwardly through the Well pipe blade 26 will shear off the parain, or other coating, on the. well pipe and the cuttings will be washed by the upwardly flowing stream of oil up through the windows 21 on up through the well tubing and out through the flow connections of the Christmas tree.

As stated the wire line 8 connected to the socket 23 passes over the sheave 22 and its other end is wound on the reel 28. This reel is of conventional construction and is operable by means I the crank 29. As is Well known it embodies a brake which may be set or released at will by an appropriate manipulation of the crank 29. The reel 23 is mounted to rotate on a horizontal axis on the outwardlygextended arm 38 of the bracket 3l which may be clamped about the housing 2 by means of conventional clamp bolts 32, 32. The selected depth to which the cutter is to be lowered into the well may be indicated by a suitable marker on the line 8 and when the line is unwound from the line until the marker appears the selected depth will have b een reached and the rotation of the reel may then be reversed and the cutter pulled upwardly into its position Within the housing 2 and the reel brake set and the equipment maintained in that position until it is desired to use the same again.

It will be thus seen that the equipment as installed is at all times ready for instant use.

The oil is delivered from the well through a flow line as 33 which may be connected with the Well through the connection 34 and With the delivery tank through the connec 35. The iiow line 33 may be of any lengt 'It is apparent that its inner wall will also "become coated with parain or other objectionable coating substances so as to interfere with the flow of the liquid therethrough. As illustrated in A Figure this line is equipped, beyond the connections 34 and 35, with the stuing box arrangement, illustrated in Figure 1, and embodying the parts 3 to 1, 9 to I4 and I6 to I9, inclusive. On each of the special couplings 4 of Figure 5 there is mounted a yoke as I5, said yokes being outwardly turned with sheaves as 38, 31 between their side arms over which the respective wire lines 38, 39 operate. These wire lines 38, 39 extend through the respective stuiiing boxes and their inner ends are connected to cutter or cleaner assemblies as will be more specically hereinafter described.

The outer ends of the lines 38, 39 are wound around the conventional wire line reelsv such as illustrated in Figures l and 4 and which may be suitably mounted on any fixed support. The cutter assembly to which the lines 38, 39 are shown connected, as illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, comprise the spaced, annular cutters 40, 4I which are fastened, by radiating spokes, onto the corresponding hubs 42, 43 to the outer ends of which the respective cables 38, 39 are connected. The inner ends of the hubs 42, 43 are connected by a link 44 whose ends have universal connections with the corresponding ends of said hubs. The link 44 has the oppositely extended radial arms 45 Whose outer ends have rotatable discs 46 mounted thereon which ride against the inner side of the line 33 so as to guide the cutters 48, 4| particularly when the cutter assembly is passing around sharp turns or curves in the flow line. The -cutters 48, 4I are outwardly iiared in each direction as clearly illustrated in Figure 6 thus providing the oppositely directed, annular cutting edges 41, 48 and 49, 58, respectively, so that they will remove the paraiiin from the flow line, or pipe, 33 as moved in either direction. It is obvious that they may be moved in either direction as desired by manipulation of the reel to which one of the lines is connected and releasing the other reel.

VThe cleaning assembly may be modied as shown in Figure 7, the modication consisting only of the substitution of cylindrical steel brushes as 48a, 41a. and 46a for the cutters 4D, 4l and the guide discs 46, respectively. These brushes will sweep along the walls of the flow line 33, upon manipulation of the operating cables, and will effectively clean out the floW line.

The drawings and description are illustrative merely, While the broad principle of the invention will be `defined by the appended claim.

What I claim is:

In cleaning apparatus for well pipes, a housing having a wire line stufling box at one end, a coupling for connecting the stuffing box to the housing, a yoke having one end around the coupling, a sheave for supporting a wire line mounted on the yoke and clamp means on the coupling for clamping the yoke thereon.

JAMES DAVISS COLLETT, JR. 

